Being of the Atari/Nintendo generation, one part of fatherhood is a constant struggle for me. I now understand exactly how my dad felt when he’d place summer wake-up calls to urge me and my brother to get out of bed and workout or play ball.

Although I embrace technology as an adult, striking a balance between my kids’ time on smartphones and iPads versus the finer things in life (getting outside and playing) is tough. Heck, most of us adults struggle with stepping away from the Facebook page every now and again. I comfort myself with the fact that their future careers will most likely involve tech in a big way.

Such is life in 2012.

My kids saw a bar of soap recently and asked us what it was. Think about it. Soap for kids is the “no tears” variety in a bottle. Most public restrooms have dispensers. Although a bar of Irish Spring sits in Dad’s shower, the kids have no reason to notice.

Just last night, an old black and white movie came on. The kids ran to their grandparents thinking the TV broke. After a brief explanation, Peyton asked, “So why didn’t they just use crayons?”

On a family trip, we were struggling our way through the park’s gift shop, trying to blow by the Princess and Star Wars aisles to escape unscathed. Parker grabbed a yellow box and asked, “Dad, what’s this for?” It was a disposable camera. I explained how it worked and his reply...”Why would you wait for pictures when you could just use your phone and see them right away?”

Change is not all bad though. We ask most every patient who comes into our office if they’ve ever had a bad dental experience. We want to ensure that it doesn’t happen again. Not on our watch. The stories are varied, but most lead to receiving dental care, “when the Novocain didn’t work. That old doc just told me to hold on and kept going.”

We are better than that now. There are a variety of technologies and anesthetics and pharmaceuticals that allow for virtually pain free dental care. Fears and phobias can be overcome with distractions (movies and music) or sedative drugs. Sleep dentistry is an option, as well. The best thing to do is to simply ask your doctor what might be right for you.

Until next week, keep smiling.

-Dr. Chip

-Comments on this weeks article can be mailed the old-fashioned way to Drs. Parrish at 307 East State Highway 71, Llano, Texas 78643. Or we could have a conversation.